“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1: 5-9 I was showering one day when I…

“Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.” Phil. 4:5 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Gal. 5:22-23 “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” 2 Tim. 2: 24-26. If you follow the Lord Jesus Christ in His time on earth carefully and closely through the Bible, you will notice that…

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 The devil can’t take Christ’s followers out of Christ’s Kingdom, he can’t steal our salvation from us, he can’t take away our relationship with God from us, he can’t undo God’s forgiveness of us, he can’t stop God from loving us, but he sure can try to wreak havoc on our lives by messing up our relationship with God, by messing up our testimony in front of others, and by messing up our ability to humbly, lovingly, and faithfully serve the Lord. The devil doesn’t have the power to do any of this himself, but in his three-fold…

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil. 4:13 Today’s world seems at times and in ways very focused on a “you CAN do it” and a “we CAN do it” and an “I CAN do it” and even like in the famous Nike ad a “Just Do It” mentality that goes along with the thinking that if we can just muster up enough strength, and have just the right positive attitude, and say the perfect combination of affirmations, and have cheerleaders and encourage-rs yelling out alongside us, well, yes, of course, we CAN do it. We can do just about anything – as long as we set our mind to it. Just get enough of that ole’ willpower, and of course, absolutely, we CAN do whatever.…

“The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.” Proverbs 29:25 “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 ““The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 When I learned of an illegal activity taking place somewhere, my first instinct was to think of myself and how it affected me. I was a little upset, a little angry, a little concerned, and pretty sure I wanted to…

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Ephesians 5:1-2 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Ephesians 4:29 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45…

““When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then…

““Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Mt. 7:1-2 ““Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37 If you’ve ever been in a court of law, or seen one on television, or know anything about one, you know there is a judge. The judge does the judging. Unfortunately, if we’re honest with ourselves, when it comes to our own lives, sometimes, if not often, we get in the judge’s seat and do the judging when it comes to others. And this isn’t like walking into a courtroom and getting in the judge’s seat. It’s like getting…

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27 “If you would slow down enough to listen, you would hear,” the Spirit of God spoke to me one day. I hear from God daily, as His Spirit speaks to me through His Word which I study daily and directly to my heart personally always in line with His Word as God will never speak against His own Word. But there are times I feel like I’m missing something, like I need to hear more from Him, like I should be hearing more from Him, like why am I not hearing more from Him? That day, the Lord spoke that to me. A reminder that I need to SLOW DOWN so I can LISTEN TO HIM…

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1 Just before going to see a dear friend I had not seen in many years, I prayed, “Father, give me the words to speak, the ears to listen, and the heart to love.” I wanted her to see His love, to hear the words He wanted me to speak to her, and for me to listen to her and hear what He wanted me to hear. I wanted out time together to be submitted to God. I wanted to be wholly surrendered to Him. That our meeting would bring Him glory. That God would use me to bless her, to help her, to encourage her, to love her,…

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 “and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:23 One of the greatest tragedies in my early years calling myself a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ was that I wasn’t BEING TRANSFORMED. But how can that be? Shouldn’t every believer in Jesus be going through a transformation process? Yes, every believer SHOULD be getting transformed. But I was not! How so? “Keep me on the potter’s wheel,” a man told me he prays every day. He knows he needs to be continually…

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 “What do you want me to do?” I asked the Lord early one morning. I was still groggy, not quite awake, hadn’t spent my morning time with Him studying His Word, and already two different issues had arisen as I had discovered via phone. I had a strong sense I needed to address both issues quickly, and neither would be fun or easy to address. Small issues, yes, but in my half-asleep mind and my propensity to worry, I wasn’t too excited about dealing with either. So I figured I’d act quickly and get it all done. Besides, if I didn’t jump…

“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 Years ago, a loved one confronted me about the fact I was treating the Bible like a smorgasbord. I was brand new to God’s Word, and I figured I could pick and choose what I liked, and forget about the rest. I didn’t agree with certain parts of the Bible, I didn’t like those parts, so I figured I could look at the smorgasbord and enjoy what I liked and leave everything else alone. Little did I know what other lesson I needed to learn, and that there is nothing in the universe more important than this one. Jesus Christ is SAVIOR,…

“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 “I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore.” Psalm 86:12 I was working on my writing one day when the Holy Spirit said to me, “How does this glorify me?” If the truth be told, I did something awful. I waved Him aside. I managed to convince myself it really wasn’t God speaking to me. Or, if it was God, it really wasn’t that important. Surely I could just keep writing. Surely I could avoid His question. That’s exactly what I did. But He wasn’t through with me just yet. I walked away from my writing, then returned. Still working on the same piece. Still avoiding the Lord’s question.…

“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 “Do you want to follow me, or do you want to do what you want to do?” the Spirit of God said to me one morning. How quickly we who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord can be to call ourselves His followers, and to say we want to follow Him, that we are committed to following Him, that of course as we believe in Him we also follow Him. But when we are totally honest with ourselves, and we look at our everyday lives, at how we fill up our schedules, our calendars, our agendas, how we make our plans, what choices we make and…

“Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” 2 Tim. 2:19-21 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” 1 Peter 2:9 Dictionary.com defines a vessel among other things as “a hollow or concave utensil, as a cup, bowl, pitcher, or…

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” Ephesians 5:1 What does a young wise and well-loved child do when he adores his loving and trustworthy parents who are raising him beautifully and blessedly with great kindness, patience, abundant provision, and care? He looks to his parents as role models, as heroes, as examples, and imitates them. He wants to be like them. He wants to become like them. So he follows them. He watches them closely and carefully and imitates them. He doesn’t do this from a great distance. He does it from a place of intimate relationship. He spends time with them. He looks at them. He stares at them. He listens to them. He watches their gestures. Their mannerisms. Listens to their very words. Sees how they interact with others.…

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings,…

“Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I…

It’s hard to believe it’s July already, and that I’ve been on the third stop of my life out on the road full-time for the Lord and ministry for over two months already. Stop number one was Loudoun County, VA, for about 11 months. Stop two was New Jersey for three weeks. Now, New York City for over two months. If the truth be known, I’m still very excited, very humbled, very thankful, and very confident I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be doing what I’m supposed to be doing for the Lord, but I’m also quite tired from a combination of years of personal struggle coupled with the challenges of being in full-time ministry with no staff, a baby budget, only two sweet and beloved part-time volunteers who do their best…

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.” 1 Cor. 4:5 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 I love, love, love to hear from the Lord, but sometimes what He has to say to me is hard. Like the day His Spirit spoke to my heart about my motives in something enormous in my life. He didn’t tell me my motives were all wrong. What He told me was that SOME of my motives…

“Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.” Ecc. 12:13-14 “You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.” Psalm 90:8 “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.” 1 Cor. 4:5 “Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.” Mt. 10:26 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of…

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” 2 Cor. 1:3-5 One day I walked out onto the streets of New York City, unclear whether I would go to a prayer meeting or not, and just started walking and walking until I stood outside a random subway station wondering if I’d go down the stairs to the subway or just keep on walking to some other subway station or no subway station at all. As though a string from heaven…

“After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into…

“Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan…

“O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. But those who seek my life, to…

““Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 The July 4 Independence Day holiday, celebrating America’s independence from Britain, isn’t the only independence celebration. Our world glorifies independence, doesn’t it? When children are old enough to become independent from their parents, when the elderly can live independently and don’t need to go into nursing homes, when young people get their drivers licenses and can now drive without depending on their parents to get places, when students graduate and are…

“Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:9 One day I visited a prayer meeting for a little while and saw the most beautiful man I have almost ever seen. He came in a little after the start of the meeting, and he was tall, dark-skinned, and looked from a distance anyway to be very muscular and fit. He was dressed nicely, and though I couldn’t see his face, I knew without a shadow of doubt he was absolutely beautiful. Not because of the way he looked, mind you, but because of what he did. I’ve seen plenty of good looking men over the years, and even as I’ve chosen a single-on-purpose life to be available to the maximum to the Lord and…

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” 2 Cor. 1:3-5 I know all about a hurting heart. My heart has hurt on and off for as long as I can remember. If it’s not been one thing, it’s been another. Some hurts have come and gone quickly. Others stayed for some time. Some remain. Some have been mild. Some so enormous I felt like I would never come up from under them. Like I would be swallowed up…

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:6-9 I had lived in my little New York City apartment for about two months when I realized an unexpected “benefit” of my efforts to conserve energy and keep my electric bill down. I had been minimizing my use of keeping the lights on,…